Vancouver Courier March 18 2015 by Vancouver Courier

WEDNESDAY

March 18 2015

Vol. 106 No. 21

CITY LIVING 12

Under the PlayDome FAMILY 13

Vaisakhi Day ahead STATE OF THE ARTS 21

One-man Obaaberima There’s more online at

vancourier.com MIDWEEK EDITION

THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908

Yes side lacks Olympic touch Length of campaign a worry

Bob Mackin

bob@bobmackin.ca

It was a mistake to turn the TransLink funding vote into a two-and-a-half month marathon, says the leader of the Yes campaign in the City of Vancouver’s sprintlike, 2003 Olympic bid plebiscite. “I just worry with it dragging out that a lot of people may not ultimately vote, they’ll just get tired of the debate,” Concert Properties chair David Podmore told the Courier. In 2013, the B.C. Liberals promised a referendum on new TransLink funding to coincide with the November 2014 municipal elections. It was delayed and downgraded to the non-binding, March 16 to May 29 mail-in plebiscite. Podmore’s Team Yes 2010 was victorious Feb. 22, 2003 when 86,113 voted to support Vancouver’s bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics, versus 48,651 op-

posed. That plebiscite happened after COPE Mayor Larry Campbell’s 2002 election promise. The Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation, chaired by thenConcert boss Jack Poole, won the July 2, 2003 International Olympic Committee host city election. Podmore said that Concert donated $10,000 to the Yes to Better Transit and Transportation campaign and he has offered advice. “You need a single point of contact, you need an individual in the community that everyone would respect and to be the proactive lead,” Podmore said. “I know that Iain [Black] and Peter Robinson and others are actively out there telling the story of what this can mean for our community. So far there hasn’t been a personality attached to this, other than [Jim] Pattison in terms of the oversight, if the plebiscite proceeds. Which I hope it does.” Chris Shaw led No Games 2010 and says the 2015 Yes campaign is also an odd alliance of political, business and labour interests who are making lofty promises to help a magnet for controver-

sy. Back then it was the Bid Corporation. Today it is TransLink. No Games 2010 opposed diverting money from healthcare and education to subsidize the Olympics. Bid boosters urged voters to ignore B.C. Liberal social services cutbacks and claimed the Games would bring new infrastructure, spur economic growth and benefit hospitals and schools in the long-run. “It’s hard not for anybody to know how this city has evolved, especially during the Olympic period, and even from Expo, not to see the hands of developers behind this,” Shaw said. “When you put Vision Vancouver and Pattison on the same side, the smell of that becomes fairly apparent.” Podmore admitted “developers are holding back a bit.” “If we were to lead this, people would say, ‘oh well that’s the developers, you know they’re going to benefit from this,’” Podmore said. “The whole community benefits from the development of transitoriented communities.” As in 2003, there are no campaign

ﬁnancing or reporting rules. Shaw said his group raised $5,000 but believes Team Yes 2010’s $700,000 was supplemented by the provincial government. No TransLink Tax claimed $27,259.80 in donations as of March 11. TransLink’s Mayors’ Council has a $6-million taxpayer-funded Yes campaign budget. Yes to Better Transit and Transportation hasn’t decided whether to publish its donations. The 2003 vote led to seven years of $6 billion to $8 billion in spending to build and operate the Games, with legacies like the $800-million Sea-to-Sky Highway upgrade and $2 billion Canada Line. In 2002, InterVistas estimated B.C.’s economy would grow by $10.7 billion from hosting the Games and building the Vancouver Convention Centre. When it was over, PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated the “Games Effect” was more likely $2.34 billion. The bid book estimated $1.3 billion for Games operations. VANOC dissolved in 2014 claiming a balanced $1.9-billion budget. Continued on page 7

Port fire fans fears Dangerous cargo prompts questions

Jen St. Denis

jstdenis@biv.com

AGONY OF DEFEAT The Tupper Tiger’s winning streak ended Saturday night in Langley when they lost the senior boys B.C. basketball championship to Surrey’s Fleetwood Park Dragons. See story on page 22. PHOTO CHUNG CHOW

As accidents involving chemicals go, Vancouver got lucky. On the afternoon of March 4, a shipping container caught fire on the city’s waterfront. The container was full of a commonly used chemical called trichloroisocyanuric acid that had been shipped from China, according to Port Metro Vancouver. As health officials warned that exposure to the smoke could cause breathing problems and eye irritation, the port was evacuated and city residents within a five-kilometre area downtown and around the Downtown Eastside were told to stay indoors, shut doors and windows and turn off air conditioners and furnaces. The large plume of smoke wafted east and north to North Vancouver and Burnaby, causing concern in those communities as well. But by nightfall, the shelter-in-place advisory had been lifted and the fire was mostly under control. Continued on page 4

THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Why should Vancouver vote YES? MORE SKYTRAIN SERVICE Extending the Millennium Line along Broadway to Arbutus will shorten travel times from Commercial Drive to Cambie by 40% and reduce trafďŹ c congestion along Broadway.

MORE BUS SERVICE Increased service with more buses on busy routes in Vancouver means you save time, wait less and avoid being passed by due to overcrowding.

NEW B-LINE RAPID BUS SERVICE New B-Line buses will provide fast, frequent service all day long on 41st Avenue from Joyce-Collingwood to UBC and on Hastings from Downtown Vancouver to SFU.

Together, these projects and many more meet the demands of an expected population growth of 1 million in the next 30 years, which would otherwise put unimaginable strain on an already overcrowded transportation network. Voting YES in the upcoming Transit and Transportation Referendum will reduce the costs of congestion by 33% and improve the quality of life for everyone. All for less than 35 cents a day per household. Vote YES for a faster commute, a stronger economy and a better environment.

Look for your ballot in the mail and vote YES. Check out the Plan at mayorscouncil.ca

W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News

School board ponders next move Cheryl Rossi

crossi@vancourier.com

The Vancouver School Board’s secretary-treasurer Rick Krowchuk said Thursday morning the board hadn’t decided whether it would cancel its contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to review the district’s revenues and expenses. Education Minister Peter Fassbender has claimed he didn’t know the VSB had hired the firm, also known as PwC, when he appointed EY, formerly Ernst and Young, to serve as special adviser on the Vancouver School Board’s budget, and offered to cover costs related to PwC. Kevin Brennan, senior vice president at EY, the firm that served as receiver on the financially troubled Olympic Village project, is to submit a draft report to Fassbender by May 31. Fassbender surprised the VSB by announcing March 12 that it would appoint an adviser. NPA VSB chairperson Christopher Rich-

From left: Education Minister Peter Fassbender, VSB chairperson Christopher Richardson and VSB secretary-treasurer Rick Krowchuk. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

ardson says the education ministry knew the board had recently hired PwC to undertake similar work. The board rehired PwC to study how far the VSB has progressed in implementing PwC’s recommendations from 2012, comment on the proposed balanced budget and identify additional new savings. Fassbender appointed a special adviser after learning

the VSB projects a minimum $15 million budget shortfall for 2015-2016, according to a press release from the education ministry. “Over the past two decades, the Vancouver Board of Education has publicly forecasted large deﬁcits but has consistently ended the school year with a surplus,” the government press release states. “As of June 30, 2014, they held

an accumulated surplus of $28.4 million, which is the equivalent to six per cent of total district expenditures.” Brennan is to lead a team that will consider: • the VSB’s budget development and forecasting, • accumulated surpluses and deﬁcits, • management of assets including all buildings, leases and real estate, • opportunities for admin-

istrative savings, and board governance. The adviser is also to review similar reports provided to the board or the minister over the past five years and actions taken. Krowchuk doesn’t expect a review by EY or PwC to greatly influence the district’s 2015-2016 budget. “I suspect both reports might be move towards longer-term issues,” he told the Courier on the morning of March 16. “It is coming in a little bit late in the process.” Krowchuk said the board had requested at least a preliminary verbal report from PwC before it makes final budget decisions April 30. The provincial School Act requires school boards to submit balanced budgets to the ministry by June 30, but the VSB makes budget decisions by April 30 to advise unions and administrators about staffing changes for September before the summer break. The provincial government’s Office of the Comptroller General reviewed the VSB’s budget procedures in 2010 and recommended

closing schools, including representatives from the private sector on the VSB’s finance committee and revealed (ongoing) misunderstandings about VSB surpluses, said Krowchuk. Former Vision Vancouver school board chairperson Patti Bacchus said March 12 that Fassbender’s claim about an accumulated surplus of $28.4 million was misleading because most of the money was allocated, just not spent, on that date. Krowchuk reported to the District Parent Advisory Council in late February that 90 per cent of the school board’s $492.5 million in revenue in its preliminary budget for 2014-2015 hailed from the provincial government. Of the VSB’s expenditures, 72 per cent covers salaries, 20 per cent goes to employee benefits, seven per cent goes to services, supplies and utilities and three per cent is directed elsewhere, mostly to the purchase of capital assets. Richardson did not return the Courier’s calls. —with files from Mike Howell

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Cities press shippers on hazardous cargo Continued from page 1 It could have been worse, said Vancouver fire Chief John McKearney. “We figured out it was a Class 1 oxidizer out of four classes of oxidizers,” McKearney said. “In the realm of oxidizers, it’s the least concerning. There are certainly other products that would have been more dangerous for us to concern ourselves with.” Oxidizing liquids and solids are classified “based on their ability to cause spontaneous combustion and how much they can increase the burning rate,” according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Heath and Safety. Class 1 oxidizers “slightly increase” the burning rate and do not cause spontaneous ignition with material that comes into contact with them, while Class 4 oxidizers can explode when exposed to slight heat or friction. Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and Transport Canada will now each complete a separate investigation into the incident. For the City of Vancouver and Vancouver’s fire department, the incident is prompting questions about what is being shipped through the region and how prepared fire departments are to respond to a serious chemical spill or fire. Along with other municipalities across Canada, Vancouver has been pushing for more information about dangerous goods from railways. But the March 4 fire shows the city may also need more information from Port Metro Vancouver, said deputy city manager Sadhu Johnston. Following the Lac Mégantic train derailment and explosion that killed 47 people in the summer of 2013, Transport Canada directed railways to give municipalities information about dangerous goods being shipped through communities. The City of Vancouver receives confidential reports from Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, one year after the shipments have gone through. That’s not good enough, Johnston said. “It’s supposed to be quarterly and we’re trying to get them on a regular basis,” Johnston said. “It’s not really happening the way it needs to happen.” In emailed statements, CN and CP said they were complying with current

Oil and other potentially hazardous goods could be moving through a neighbourhood near you, but information about what those goods are and when they’re moving remains minimal. PHOTO ROB KRUYT

regulations and continuing to work with local governments, including providing training to ﬁrst responders. Fire departments throughout the region also need more information about what is commonly being shipped and in what quantities, McKearney said. That’s information Vancouver Fire and Rescue currently doesn’t have.

A wake-up call

During the March 4 fire, communication between Centerm terminal operator DP World, Port Metro Vancouver and the Vancouver fire department worked well: the fire department had information about the chemical in under 10 minutes, McKearney said. Firefighters also relied on Transport Canada’s Canutec emergency centre, which has chemical experts available around the clock. But without more knowledge of the types and quantities of dangerous goods, first responders could be left without the right types of supplies — such as certain types of fire-suppressing foam or soda ash — or enough of them, McKearney said. About a year ago, White Rock mayor Wayne Bald-

win was surprised to learn that railcars filled with Bakken formation crude oil, the same type of explosive cargo that caused the Lac-Mégantic disaster, were travelling through his community. The shipments were first noticed by an observant Crescent Beach resident who looked up markings on a railcar, Baldwin said. Rail company Burlington Northern Sante Fe now gives White Rock information about shipments one month after they’ve gone through the city, Baldwin said. He and other residents have observed that train cars regularly contain cargo such as hydrochloric acid, ammonia hydroxide, chlorine, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas. Baldwin would like his city to get advance notice before something dangerous, like 130 train cars of Bakken crude, travels through the community. Vancouver’s concerns about dangerous-goods movement extend to sea shipping. In a submission to Transport Canada’s Tanker Safety Expert Panel in April 2014, the city said there is no system in place for “emergency preparedness, mitigation, response or recovery” for a

fire, chemical or oil spill or other emergency originating on board a ship. The City of Vancouver opposes Kinder Morgan’s proposal to expand its existing Trans Mountain pipeline, saying it will lead to a sharp increase in the number of oil-carrying tankers in the region’s waterways. “[If] a tanker were to catch on fire, or a major toxic cloud were to come from that – what we experienced [on March 4] was absolutely minuscule compared to that kind of scenario,” Johnston said. Fire departments in Metro Vancouver “don’t have anywhere near the resources to say we could mitigate that situation if it occurs,” McKearney said. Vancouver’s port is an important part of the local, provincial and national economy, and dangerous goods will continue to be shipped through the city, Johnston said. While emergencies like the recent fire at the port are rare, the incident is a wake-up call for residents and business owners. “How ready are [we] for an emergency and do we understand the risks of things that are being transported through our community?”

Tracking container shipping accidents In 2014, half of the accidents involving cargo on container ships were caused by poor packing, according to an organization created by global container shipping lines to track the number and type of accidents at sea. The Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS) tracks any incident that causes injury or death, asset loss or environmental damage. One in five of the incidents CINS tracked involved flammable or corrosive cargo. CINS was founded in 2011 by five of the world’s biggest container shipping lines — CMA CGM, Evergreen, HapagLloyd, Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. — to share information on cargo-related incidents. In 2014, the organization included 12 shipping lines and accounted for 61 per cent of global container capacity. According to Port Metro Vancouver spokesman John Parker-Jervis, one of the issues Transport Canada will be examining in its investigation of the March 4 port fire in Vancouver is how the shipping container in the blaze was packed and handled.

Hazardous goods shipped through Port In a submission to Transport Canada’s Tanker Safety Expert Panel in April 2014, the City of Vancouver listed the most commonly transported dangerous goods by bulk cargo through Port Metro Vancouver: • diluted bitumen • crude oil • several types of fuel • caustic soda • sodium chlorate • mineral concentrates liquids

• metallurgical and thermal coal • potash • bulk fertilizers • canola oil and fish oil • sulphur

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The Single Mothers’ Alliance B.C. wants to know more about the lives of single mothers. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

Single moms to tell stories

Deanna Cheng

dmwcheng7@gmail.com

The Single Mothers’ Alliance B.C. is looking for stories from single mothers in Vancouver. The goal is to figure out the most pressing obstacles facing single mothers and develop a campaign to improve services for them. The grassroots nonprofit will hold “The Listening Project” sessions at Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House at 4065 Victoria Dr. Each session will include childcare in a room adjacent to the meeting room, bus tickets, grocery gift cards and snacks for both mothers and children. The next session is on March 31. Viveca Ellis, co-founder of the group, said there are many obstacles facing single mothers in B.C. “We’re working on developing platform for advocacy and platform for action. We want to create awareness in British Columbia of issues facing single moms.” At the listening sessions, stories will be recorded and the alliance will go over the transcripts. The members will examine the stories to find out what prevents single moms from having better lives. Reports and studies are helpful, Ellis said, but they miss the details and intimate stories and put distance between those in

power and single moms who are directly affected by decisions made by authorities. Ellis wants to challenge the myth of low-income families are too busy to be engaged on a civic level. “We are focused on breaking down barriers in participation in organizing and that’s why we offer free childcare during all our meetings, participation incentives like grocery gift cards and transportation cost coverage because it isn’t true that people in poverty and single mothers are too busy to organize and engage politically.” Ellis insists the alliance is more than a support group. “We’re an advocacy group. Our mandate is to provide opportunities and empower low-income single mothers to get politically engaged and participate in democracy.” Melanie Baker, a single mother with an eight-yearold son, participated in the ﬁrst listening session last year. She signed up because she wanted to be part of a community and feel less isolated. It was difﬁcult for Baker because she is used to being self-reliant and doing what needs to be done alone. “I have a hard time asking for help. I don’t like to impose.” Somehow, between juggling two part-time jobs and a landscaping company, she made it out to the

session. The opportunity excited Baker because she said she didn’t want to be in a support group where everyone dwelled on the negative. “I wanted positive. I wanted to support other women. I wanted goal-setting and empowerment.” She says that’s what she found. The 42-year-old mother believes change is possible from a united voice. “We’re a silent minority but there are so many of us out there.” What Baker hopes to get from the alliance is a mentor, opportunities to self-development courses and opportunities to host workshops about gardening and art. “Once you’ve got support, you feel safe,” she said. Supporting a single mother affects more than a single demographic. “By helping mothers, you’re then helping their children,” Baker said. Ellis has seen proof of this. “People have checked us out and donated to our cause. Daughters of single moms. Sons of single moms. Fathers of single moms.” Last year’s First Call report said B.C.’s child poverty rate from 2000 to 2012 has remained consistently higher than the Canadian average. The report also said one out of ﬁve B.C. children are poor.

For more info, visit singlemothersbc.org. twitter.com/writerly_dee

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Once a city falls behind on infrastructure expansion, it can be very difficult to catch up, argues Stewart Prest. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

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Voting No a historic mistake SOAPBOX

Stewart Prest

sprest@interchange.ubc.ca

Let me begin by saying I love this city. I moved here several years ago to begin graduate studies at the University of British Columbia. Prior to my arrival, I’d lived in four other provinces and on two other continents. In all those moves, I can honestly say I’ve never been anywhere I’d rather live. What’s more, Vancouverites seem to get how good they have it here. Many will talk your ear off about just how lovely the city is, given half a chance to do so. That civic pride is for the most part well justiﬁed, too. Every city has its problems, and Vancouver is certainly no exception — issues like homelessness and affordability constitute signiﬁcant and ongoing challenges — but this city gets a lot of things right. On the subject of transportation however, the region teeters on the verge of a historic mistake, one that will haunt the region for years, and possibly decades, to come. Polls now suggest a majority in the region is planning to vote No in the transit plebiscite currently underway. Some appear to be acting out of frustration with perceived adminis-

trative shortcomings of TransLink, the provincial government-created local transit monopoly. Others argue that the funding mechanism of a 0.5 per cent sales tax is less than ideal. Such thinking and argumentation is astonishingly short-sighted for a moment of such importance to the future of the region. “Take that, nose!” people seem to be saying. “I bet the face never saw it coming! Hahaha! Ow.” Cities are defined in part by how, and how well, they move people. A growing city of any size, let alone one with global aspirations, must work tireless to meet transportation challenges. Once a city falls behind on infrastructure expansion, it can be very difficult to catch up. In some cases it may prove impossible. Vancouver, with its overloaded buses and rage-inducing traffic jams, needs such improvements more than most places. Indeed, in many ways this city succeeds despite its transportation system, rather than because of it. One 2013 study ranked it as having the worst traffic in North America. Another in 2014 placed Vancouver fifth worst in the entire Americas. “World leaders in gridlock” is a civic slogan that leaves much to be desired. Transit suffers by other measures as well. A 2014 study by the Pembina In-

stitute found that, despite laying more new rapid transit track in the last 20 years than the other four major Canadian cities surveyed, Vancouver still ranked last in terms of certain measures of access. Less than one in five residents live within a kilometre of existing rapid transit for instance, behind even sprawling Calgary. A Yes vote opens the door to a greener, more liveable city and region. It even stands to be a slightly more affordable one. The Mayors’ Council recently released a study showing that, in the long run, the average Vancouver family will end up saving money thanks to reductions in fuel use, fare prices, and so on. That’s even after the new sales tax is taken into account. Quite simply, a Yes vote will lead to a cleaner, more prosperous, and more efficient Vancouver. Conversely, a No vote rejects the best chance the region has to address one of its biggest problems. It is a vote for more traffic, more pollution, and continuing uncertainty around transportation in the city for the foreseeable future. It will not force TransLink to fix things itself. It won’t result in another referendum right away on the same proposal using a different funding mechanism. There’s no way to know how long it will take for a new proposal to emerge

should this one be defeated, and until it does the problem will simply worsen as the region’s population continues to grow. None of this is to say that TransLink itself is above reproach. On the contrary, it’s clear that the corporation is in need of significant reform. Another report commissioned by the Mayors’ Council — the same council behind the transit proposal — found that transit governance in the Vancouver region suffers from “deficiencies in accountability, effectiveness and efficiency in decision-making” not found in other comparable regions. Vancouverites can and should take that up such problems with TransLink’s board and with the provincial government. That’s a separate issue from investments in infrastructure however, and ought to be treated that way. The question of the referendum is exactly what it appears to be: are Vancouverites willing to pay for badly needed improvements to the city’s transportation system, or not? I like living in a worldclass city. I think my fellow Vancouverites do, too. Let’s hope they vote with a view to keep it that way. Stewart Prest is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of British Columbia. He’s originally from Alberta, but took the scenic route to get to Vancouver.

W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Skepticism over ‘kittens and rainbows’

Continued from page 1 Neither the federal nor B.C. auditor general probed its books or Games-related spending. VANOC’s May 2007 business plan assumed “no recession through Games time,” but 2008’s recession gave way to bankruptcy of sponsors General Motors and Nortel. City hall took over the $1.1-billion Olympic Village in 2009, a debt it carried until 2014. A building boom caused concrete and steel price hikes and labour shortages that drove up VANOC construction costs $110 million by 2006. Could history repeat if a majority of voters from Lions Bay to Langley vote Yes to fund a third of the $7.7 billion Mayors’ Council plan and the province and feds pledge to match funding? Broadway subway, Surrey light rail and Pattullo Bridge projects could compete for workers and materials with the Massey bridge and Site C dam projects and potential for an LNG plant or pipeline somewhere in B.C. “The economic downturn and the rising price of housing have probably made people a little less economically secure than in 2003,” Shaw said. “People

Despite a vigorous campaign from No campaigners like Ann Grant, Vancouver voters strongly endorsed the city’s hosting of the 2010 Olympics in the 2003 Games referendum. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

are just less-inclined to believe these kittens and rainbows promises.” Despite the Yes campaign’s urgency, there is

no internationally imposed deadline, as there was when Vancouver sought the Olympics in 2003. twitter.com/bobmackin

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Active life possible with guide dog Two years, $35K needed to train a dog

Christine Lyon

clyon@nsnews.com

Where Mark Bentz goes, Mindy goes. From his home in North Vancouver to his job at a downtown health clinic, from Starbucks runs to workouts at the YMCA, Bentz is accompanied by his new guide dog, a 19-month-old black Lab. Bentz has a progressive retinal degenerative condition that has left him with only two per cent of his vision. He’s used a guide dog for almost 10 years. When his previous canine companion, Victor, reached retirement age, he quickly found a successor in Mindy, who graduated last month from the B.C. and Alberta Guide Dogs training program. “She’s pumped to work, loves to work, just can’t get enough of it,” Bentz says.

“She’s pumped to work, loves to work, just can’t get enough of it,” says Mark Bentz of his guide dog Mindy. “I pull that harness out, she’s doing back flips.” PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

“I pull that harness out, she’s doing back ﬂips.” Mindy is off the clock at home, but out in public she’s working to get Bentz from point A to point B safely and without bumping into any obstacles. “The guide dog’s main goal is to get you around things, so that’s what she

does, she drags me around things.” Bentz is a 1984 Paralympic gold medalist in alpine skiing and maintains an active lifestyle that includes rowing and playing for a blind ice hockey team. Before he used a dog, he got around with a white cane. Making

the switch has changed his life, he says. “The white cane makes people nervous,” he says. “A dog makes people happy.” Getting on the bus or walking into a store with his furry, four-legged guide makes it much easier to interact with people — and that’s important for

a social person like Bentz. “It’s fantastic, I should have got a dog way earlier in my life.” Mindy lived with a puppy raiser on Vancouver Island until she was about 14 months old, at which point she moved in with a boarding family in the Lower Mainland while completing her formal training. Nick Toni, a guide dog mobility instructor with B.C. and Alberta Guide Dogs, recognized early on that Mindy might be a good match for Bentz. “Mark works in the city centre, he’s a highﬂying guy, he’s very ﬁt and healthy and active. He needed a dog that was very positive and basically just got on with the job and could work in the busier city conditions,” Toni says. For three weeks prior to graduation, Mindy engaged in domiciliary training, meaning she trained in Bentz’s home environment and got familiar with his day-to-day life. It can take two years

and upwards of $35,000 to breed, raise and professionally train one dog. But there’s no cost to the recipient. B.C. and Alberta Guide Dogs and its sister charity, Autism Support Dogs, rely on donors and volunteers. Toni says each puppy is carefully assessed to ensure it is well-adjusted and able to cope with formal training. “Some dogs do come in with slight issues, but in their three or four months training after that we can iron those things out,” he says. “We’re going to put somebody’s life in a dog’s hands at the end of the day, so it’s got to be right.” Bentz says he leads “a pretty normal life.” He has limited sight, works a regular job, has hobbies and friends. But for some visually impaired people, he says, establishing relationships and socializing can be a huge challenge. “For blind people, it can be so isolating,” he says. “[Guide dogs] just open up all these doors for you and just make your life easier.”

The Health and Happiness Connection A seniors’ wellness fair hosted by Tapestry at Arbutus Walk Tuesday, March 24, 1:30pm – 3:30pm While the young may find it hard to believe, more studies than ever are pointing to increased happiness after middle age. So why not take the time to focus on your health wisdom and strengthen your overall well-being in retirement? The west-side retirement community of Tapestry at Arbutus Walk is making it easy with a wellness fair. The Health and Happiness Fair brings together a variety of wellness resources. Work on your physical fitness with a fitness assessment, biodex testing, pole walking demo and Bollywood Dancercise! Ensure your frame is in top shape with foot impression, a bone density screening and a spinal curve analysis. Top it off with a visit to the Tea Garden, a cooking demo taste, and a stop at the massage station. Join us for this free event open to seniors and their families. Call 604.736.1640 for more about vendors and demonstrations.

DiscoverTapestry.com Tapestry at Arbutus Walk 2799 Yew Street, Vancouver

604.736.1640

W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

News Compass card costs climbing

Heavily censored Cubic Transportation Systems monthly project reports obtained through Freedom of Information show that completion of work at the Main Street station was delayed in March 2014 because of “damaged communications cables and the use of single mode ﬁbre optic cables instead of multimode as used in the rest of the fare gate system.” Cubic’s September 2014 report said TransLink wanted to “relocate” some fare gates and ticket machines at Broadway

station and “remove some gates so an escalator can be replaced” at New Westminster station. The system, which continues to be tested, was originally intended for 2013 operations, but has been delayed and TransLink has not released a new target date. The project budget has nearly doubled from its original announced value of $100 million to $194 million. As of December 2014, TransLink had paid San Diego-based Cubic $60.4 million of its $90.87 million contract to design and build the system, but other

documents indicate Cubic did not receive payment for ﬁve consecutive months in 2014. Also, IBM Canada was removed as Cubic’s principal subcontractor and tasks reassigned between Cubic and TransLink, but the date, reasons and costs aren’t visible. TransLink ﬁnancial reports show it paid IBM Canada $6.7 million from 2011 to 2013. A Jan. 15, 2013 letter by Cubic senior contracts manager Michael Andranovich to TransLink vice-president David Beckley said July 15, 2014 was the “common desired objective” for a public

launch of service. That date was based on adding to the contract new features “to lower overall program risk,” such as a method to process patrons’ cash faster. Beckley and Andranovich did not respond to –––interview requests. TransLink’s senior executive committee overseeing the project kept no minutes of meetings last fall. The only line showing from Beckley’s update in the Dec. 3 management steering committee minutes says: “The plan is to continue working towards getting the system into service. — Bob Mackin

so delighted to hear!

Development Permit Board Meeting: March 23

The Development Permit Board and Advisory Panel will meet: Monday, March 23, 2015 at 3 pm Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue Ground Floor, Town Hall Meeting Room to consider this development permit application:

1661 Quebec Street: To develop the site with a 15-storey, multiple dwelling building with 174 units over two levels of underground parking, including a parking area for future development of building 3 (sub area 3) and building 4 (sub area 4) and vehicle access from the newly created Pullman Porter Street in sub-area 2. Please contact City Hall Security (ground ﬂoor) if your vehicle may be parked at City Hall for more than two hours. TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM: 604-873-7469 or lorna.harvey@vancouver.ca

Visit: vancouver.ca Phone: 3-1-1 TTY: 7-1-1

Our hearing aids are virtually invisible on both of us, even with short hair or ponytails. We are so delighted with the results that we have started to brag to our friends and we have found ourselves showing them off rather than trying to hide them! READ MORE ONLINE: WWW.CVOH.CA

Richard & Deborah M. with Noland at Crystal Hearing Broadway

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Opinion

Minimum wage policy From Paris with love doesn’t pay the rent for city planning Trish Kelly Columnist trishkellyc@gmail.com

I wish I could say last Thursday’s minimum wage policy announcement by Jobs Minister Shirley Bond is the first time a government press conference has been held to announce a drop in a bucket, but I know it isn’t. For minimum wage workers in Vancouver, Bond’s announcement of a mere 20 cent increase is just the most recent attack on their hope of making a decent living in Vancouver. Bond announced that our minimum wage will rise 20 cents in September to $10.45 an hour. Future increases to the minimum wage will now occur annually and will be tied to inflation. If the Consumer Price Index shows an increase in inflation, wages will go up accordingly, and if inflation declines, wages will stay the same. For workers currently failing to make ends meet, it’s little help. I don’t have fond memories of the period in my life when I made minimum wage. In the mid-1990s, I finished high school with good grades but turned down admission to UBC because I needed to work full time to help my mother make her rent. I made $7 an hour and worked 10-hour days with no overtime pay. I couldn’t complain — I needed the money. I lived in a large house with seven other young people, and my room was the noninsulated front porch. With youth on my side, I made it work until I could upgrade my skills and move to a better paying job that pulled me above the poverty line. Things have not improved for minimum wage workers in B.C. in the 20 years since I lived in that front porch. Two decades later, the minimum wage has increased by just over three dollars, while food costs and rents have ballooned. A friend who recently posted for a roommate on Craigslist found not just single young people wanted to rent his second bedroom, but several parents with children applied. Another shortlisted candidate marvelled that the room for rent actually had a door, as many other roommate situations she’d considered were cornered off portions of common rooms, deﬁned only by curtains. Activists and B.C. labour unions have been campaigning for a minimum wage of $15 an hour; they’ve calculated

that would get a full time worker above the poverty line. The current minimum wage of $10.25 ($9 for those who serve alcohol for a living) doesn’t cut it. If a minimum wage doesn’t even guarantee a full-time worker will be above the poverty line, how can it be a fair minimum wage? While Premier Clark has said that such an increase would harm small businesses in B.C., some U.S. cities have already passed $15 minimum wage legislation. In 2014, both San Francisco and Seattle endorsed the goal and set gradual increases that will see San Francisco achieve $15 by 2018, and Seattle by 2017 or 2021, depending on the size of the employer. Vancouver can’t follow suit. In Canada, minimum wages are set provincially, and so the best Vancouver’s city council can do is advocate to the province. Our new minimum wage with its annual increases tied to inflation likely won’t hit the $15 mark until 2034. B.C. children born today will reach legal drinking before they will make $15 an hour in a minimum wage job. It’s a disheartening future for parents. Many areas of B.C. will find the 20-cent increase inadequate, including northern communities grappling with crazy-making food costs and lone parents anywhere in the province who can’t afford the childcare that would free them to work. In Vancouver, we will continue to be hit hard. Our diverse city is a destination for many communities that are especially vulnerable to an inadequate minimum wage. New Canadians, urban aboriginals and transgendered youth come to Vancouver for a better life, but find themselves unable to escape poverty, even if they can get a job. A 20-cent increase in the minimum wage is an inadequate and unacceptable response to their difficulties. We shouldn’t stop pressuring the provincial government to raise the wages of our lowest paid workers. No one working full time should live below the poverty line. Next Monday evening at 7 p.m., the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association is hosting a meeting at their offices (2915 Commercial Dr.) for Vancouverites who’d like to help keep the pressure on the provincial government. twitter.com/trishkellyc

The week in num6ers...

125 20 94

In thousands of dollars, the cost to build a special new playground at the East Side’s Children’s Hearing and Speech Centre of B.C.

In pennies, the amount by which B.C.’s minimum wage will increase in September to reach $10.45 an hour.

In millions of dollars, the amount TransLink’s compass card project budget has increased by from an original estimate of $100 million to nearly double that figure.

Michael Geller Columnist

michaelarthurgeller@gmail.com

I spent the last two days exploring Paris with a former Vancouver city planner. We were looking for ideas to improve our city. We found some. We also discovered some good things about Vancouver that Paris needs to copy. Since the transit referendum is top of mind, there is no doubt that Vancouver could learn from Paris when it comes to public transit. Their Metro system is extremely comprehensive, with many connections between the different lines. The stations are attractive; the service is frequent and efficient. There is also an expanding tram system that in some locations runs along a grass corridor. We thought this would look wonderful along Broadway Avenue. The big idea that we both focused on was the benefit of large scale comprehensive planning. Anyone who has been to Paris cannot help but be impressed with the grand tree-lined boulevards and master-planning so evident throughout most of the city. I say most since we spent our time in the city centre. Once you get outside of this area, the Parisian suburbs are not much better than the suburbs of most Canadian cities. Indeed, they are often worse. But the city centre, with its grand edifices and carpet of beautiful mid-rise buildings, constructed from the same stone, is magnificent. There are highrise buildings, some of which are completely out of place, but most are concentrated in La Defense, the city’s business centre. While many of these buildings are impressive and shout out “look at me,” at night the area is deserted. French planners need to visit to Vancouver to see how we mix commercial and residential developments to maintain a more vibrant city centre during the day and night. While Vancouver deliberately did not copy Paris, which destroyed many neighbourhoods in the 19th century to create its grand streets and neighbourhoods, there is something to be said for a more coherent approach to city planning. Over the past few years, Vancouver has approved new neighbourhood plans along Cambie Street, in Marpole, and the West End.

The number of squirrels harmed during the production of new ITSAZOO play The Competition is Fierce, which closes March 22.

However, we have been very shy when it comes to master-planning the city with established design guidelines. My colleague noted that we simply do not have an overall vision for the city. However, we have often been spotrezoning when it has been financially advantageous to do so, and applied a network of somewhat arbitrary view corridors resulting in some ugly new buildings. He asked, do we really still need to see the Lions from the mid-point of the Granville Street Bridge? While views are very important for Vancouver residents, he thinks it is probably time to reconsider the view corridor policies that most Vancouver residents know nothing about. I agree. Another thing in Paris is its historic focus on celebrating the arts. This is evident in the number of museums and artists and art vendors on the streets. Sadly Vancouver, like most Canadian cities, does not hold arts and culture in such a high regard. Our artists struggle to find affordable studio space and living quarters, and the city struggles to fund an art gallery and museum. While Vancouver will never be Paris, we need to do more to celebrate the contribution of art, artists, and other forms of culture to the life of a city. Another noticeable difference is the landscaping and gardens. Yes, we have Stanley and Queen Elizabeth parks and many beautiful residential streets. But just look at the condition of Kingsway or Broadway or the new median at the south end of the Burrard Street Bridge filling up with weeds. One area where Vancouver is far ahead of Paris is graffiti control. Like so many European cities, Paris is suffering from graffiti abuse in a most disgusting way. It’s tragic. Hopefully local officials will realize it’s time for something to be done. They can learn from Vancouver. As we walked around Paris browsing the many street vendors, we could not help but think they too offer lessons for Vancouver. Yes, we now have food trucks. But there’s so much more we could do to enhance our street life and pedestrian experience. Hopefully one day Vancouver will become a bit more like Paris. And Paris will become a bit more like Vancouver. twitter.com/michaelgeller

45 8.5

The number of different mechanical rides available at the PlayDome fair running inside B.C. Place until Sunday.

In thousands of dollars, the price to attend the TED2015 conference running March 1620 and hear some ideas worth spreading.

W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Inbox LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Voting Yes will push out poor

CO U R I E R A R C H I V E S T H I S W E E K I N H I S T O R Y

Second homeless count ﬁnds increase

March 15, 2005: Volunteers fanned out across Metro Vancouver to conduct a oneday count of the homeless. A total of 2, 174 people without permanent shelters were tallied in the day organized by the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C., nearly double the total number found three years earlier with the first official count. More people were found on the streets than in shelters and the number of street homeless had grown by 235 per cent since 2002. The count is now done annually within Vancouver city limits. The most recent count in March 2014 found 538 people who had no shelter compared to 273 in 2013.

Biker acquitted of cocaine charges

March 17, 2003: A former president of a Vancouver motorcycle club with ties to the Hells Angels is acquitted of cocaine trafficking charges. Romano Brienza, a longshoreman and former member of the Regulators, and his wife, Maja Jurisic, were arrested in 1997 after police found four pounds of marijuana and a kilo of cocaine in their Coquitlam house. The pot couldn’t be proven to belong to them and both were acquitted of those charges. Police found the cocaine in the saddlebag of a motorcycle, which led to his conviction of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, but appeal court judges later concluded there was no direct evidence that Brienza owned the saddlebag either. ADVERTISING

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Re: “No Vote punishes the young,” March 11. With regards to the opinion piece “No Vote punishes the young,” I wish to point out that transportation and housing should be planned together. It is well documented that the core users of any transit system are the poor, as they mainly can not afford to purchase an automobile and that they can not afford to purchase a home. When an expensive transit system like a subway is built, it is common practice to build a high-density tower around each station. This is what is being done on the Expo Line, the Millennium Line and the Canada Line. The people who purchase these condominiums are two-car families who do not use public transit. This process then forces the poor, like students and the young, to live at the extreme edges of the urbanized geography as they can not afford to live near to a subway station. Voting No in this plebiscite will give our society time to discuss whether or not we wish to punish the poor and the young in the short term as we properly debate our housing and transportation at the same time. While a vote Yes would punish them in the long term by moving them out to the suburbs. Chris Shelton, Vancouver

•••

The young won’t be able to afford to live in Metro Vancouver let alone transit fare if TransLink and Metro Vancouver Mayors continue their tax-and-spend binging that has gone on far too long. The new tax would add a further cost burden for residents of an average of another $250 per year. As taxes rise, so does the cost of living, which seriously affects the young when they are just starting out in life and ﬁnd they cannot even afford to leave their parents home. A No vote to the proposed PST transit tax increase would send the message residents are fed up and will no longer tolerate all the deception and unaccountable, wasteful behaviour by TransLink and Metro mayors. According to the Canadian Consumer tax index published in 2014 by the National Post, Canadians already pay 42 per cent of their income in various taxes, with Metro Vancouver residents also enduring the highest cost of living in the country. This makes it critically important that residents get answers to some serious questions before agreeing to hand over another penny of their hard earned dollars. A key question is why Metro Vancouver residents alone are being made responsible for the cost of transit development? Responsibility for funding the construction of

Barry Link

ddhaliwal@vancourier.com

blink@vancourier.com

PUBLISHER

EDITOR

Tara Lalanne

DIRECTOR SALES & MARKETING

tlalanne@vancourier.com

TheVancouverCourierisadivisionofLMPPublicationLimitedPartnership. Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40025215. All material in the Vancouver Courier is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without permission of the publisher. This newspaper reserves the right to reject any advertising which it considers to contain false or misleading information or involves unfair or unethical practices. The advertiser agrees the publisher shall not be liable for damages arising out of error in any advertisement beyond the amount paid for such advertisement. We collect, use and disclose your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Statement which is available at vancourier.com.

ONLINE COMMENTS Copacetic with cohousing

Re: “Living with your neighbours,’” March 4. The link to death and taxes certainly persuades that cohousing is inevitable. The level of interest outside Canada is rapidly growing. I’m in Colchester, UK and it really does provide a quality life choice, especially good for seniors. David York, via Comments section

Nickelback review feedback

Re: “Nickelback come back home to Vancouver,” online only. The Nickelback sucks thing was kinda fun for a while but it’s starting to get old. Yes they make generic and bland radio rock but a lot of people listen and like it. To each his own. DelSolMan, via Reddit

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To continue playing devil’s advocate, there are a number of artists who owe their success to the backing of Chad Kroeger’s 604 Records. CKNW98, via Reddit

•••

More people went to the Nickelback concert than that Bill C-51 protest. AdiposeFin, via Reddit

have your say online...

FLYER SALES

Dee Dhaliwal

vital infrastructure within B.C.’s economic engine — Metro Vancouver — should be shared by all residents and businesses through governance by the provincial and federal government, not by unelected TransLink fat cats. TransLink and the mayors want Metro Vancouver residents to fork over another $250 million in taxes a year to the TransLink coffers for a wish list of projects for which absolutely no ﬁnancial details has been provided. This is on top of the 1.4 billion a year TransLink currently receives in funding from the 0.17 cents a liter of gas at the pumps and a huge chunk of our property taxes, which keep rising. The mayors claim that from their seven billion in annual spending, with a projected growth of 4.8 per cent annually, they are also unable to identify a single penny of cost savings to support their transit plan. Yet it has been established by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation that they have the necessary funding sources without any tax increase. It has been far too easy for politicians and government bureaucrats to keep going to the taxpayers instead of providing effective budgeting and securing greater operating efﬁciencies. A No vote is about funding sources and mismanagement, not against transit which proponents of a Yes vote keep trying to make it. It is time we stop giving Metro mayors and TransLink a blank cheque. David Matthews, Vancouver

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, M A RC H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Community 1

Whirling rides a family tradition West Coast Amusements a B.C. staple CITY LIVING Rebecca Blissett

rvblissett@gmail.com

Any rider will tell you, the best spot in line for an amusement ride is always right at the cut-off. The operator will indicate with the gruffness of a city bus driver, “OK, two more” to the kids in front, leaving you standing at the metal gate with ﬁrst dibs of the Tilt-AWhirl car on the next ride. If you’re a kid, and young enough to count your age on both hands, you’ll intently study the cheery red mechanical ride to see which car whips around the most, not realizing it has more to do with the teenagers who’ve ﬁgured out how to shift their weight into the spin much like they would on a playground swing. The chaotic movement of the Tilt-A-Whirl has attracted riders (and even physicists) since its invention in 1926 by Herbert Sellner, who built 14 of them in his home basement long before amusement rides factored in computers and mathematical analyses for predictable thrills. If you happened to ride the Tilt-A-Whirl at any country fair, mall or rodeo in British Columbia in the last 50 years, it was part of West Coast Amusements’ stable. And, chances are, the Tilt-A-Whirl at B.C. Place’s PlayDome this week is the exact same one you rode as a kid 15 times in a row until you were ill. “There’s always new inventions but it’s all the old mechanical rides that are still the most popular,” said

Stephanie Buttazzoni, the food and concession owner and operator for West Coast Amusements. “The TiltA-Whirl is the exact same one, we’ve just refurbished it. That, the Octopus, merry-go-round, ferris wheel — they’re some of the favourites. It’s about good old fun.” Buttazzoni knows a thing or two about the carnival industry because she was born into it. Grandparents Bingo and Jackie Hauser started West Coast Amusements in 1962 with a merry-go-round after selling their circus animals, which included a lion and alligator, to the Calgary Zoo. The Hausers, now on the brink of turning 90, are still active owners of the Langley and Chilliwack-based company. “They’re still our bosses at the end of the day,” said their granddaughter. “It’s their life, their passion.” Buttazzoni started working on fairgrounds as a ticket seller when she was just 10 years old and also helped her parents out with their ice cream concessions which is what inevitably led her to a business degree. “I got straight A’s in math!” she said with a laugh. “I just loved the travelling and seeing the happy faces, going in and watching rodeos and enjoying different concerts. There’s so much to see and do all the time.” West Coast Amusements shook off its months of winter hibernation for Saturday’s PlayDome opening that stretches over spring break to this Sunday for Vancouver and Lower Mainland families. Preparation for the amusement crew is no easy

task as it means hectic days of fixing whatever breaker decided to die during the cold months, repairing the occasional flat tire, staring at a wall of light bulbs to make sure every last one is merrily lit, followed by rigorous safety inspections. The 45 rides included everything from the stomachdropping Super Shot to the baby train ride Choo Choo Charlie along with carnival games and, naturally, fair food staples of candied apples, cotton candy, and mini-donuts. Each ride, carnival game and concession stand sits on its own truck trailer, which makes urban destinations such as B.C. Place a challenge as only one truck can load in at a time, said Buttazzoni. The rides take between three to five hours to assemble and then there’s the cleaning and polishing because, as Buttazzoni said, West Coast likes to be known as “Disneyland on wheels.” The carnival season lasts until mid-September with all four units (what the company calls each grouping of rides, games and food concessions) hitting the long road around B.C. and through Alberta. Vancouver’s PNE marks the wind-down of the season with the final spots being in Agassiz and Port Alberni mid-September. Then it’s back to the warehouses and farmer’s barns in Chilliwack where the machines sleep until next year’s PlayDome where another batch of kids will line up for the Tilt-A-Whirl, hoping to luck out at being first in line to ride the car that spins uncontrollably. twitter.com/rebeccablissett

1. Fair-goers react to the Spring Ride during Saturday’s opening of PlayDome at B.C. Place. The fair features 45 rides and attractions from West Coast Amusements and runs until this Sunday. 2. A couple share a few moments away from children on the ferris wheel during Saturday’s opening. 3. This young rider on the Hot Wild game did not seem overly impressed with her trike driver–. 4. Claude Leforest manned the Wac ‘A’ Mole carnival game. Leforest, from Armstrong, B.C. celebrates his 21st year as a West Coast Amusements employee this year. See photo gallery online at vancourier.com. PHOTOS REBECCA BLISSETT

W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Family Vaisakhi Day, free exhibitions, visits to VanDusen raving about. Spring break camps run three days in a row. Marnie’s Regular Spring Session will run 10 weeks and begin the week of April 13. Visit MusicwithMarnie. com for details.

CALENDAR

Jenny Peng

jennypeng08@gmail.com

South Vancouver

The annual Vaisakhi Day Celebration is set to paint the town bright orange and blue once again this year on April 11. The day starts early with Kirtan, hymn singing from 7 to 9 a.m. followed by the Vaisakhi parade from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The parade will proceed from the Ross Street Temple at 8000 Ross St. Vaisakhi is historically a joyous occasion and an important day in the Sikh calendar. It occurs mid-April and traditionally coincides in Punjab with the ﬁrst harvesting of the crops for the year and marks the establishment of Khalsa, Sikhs who have undergone the Amrit Ceremony initiated by the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. For more information, see kdsross.com.

Oakridge

The sprawling 55 acres at VanDusen Botanical Garden is welcoming kids 12 and under to explore its wellkept grounds for free from March 1 to 31. Find your way through the hedge maze, spot local wildlife, enjoy a family picnic, and discover over 7,000 different plants from around the world. Offer extends to two free child admissions with the purchase of a regular priced adult, senior or youth admission. The same applies to garden members. The garden is open daily in March from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Yaletown

Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery hosts

Mount Pleasant

The Mount Pleasant Branch of the Vancouver Public Library hosts Write Now! Creative Writing for Kids on March 18 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Kids from ages eight to 12 with all different writing abilities, from beginners to advanced, are encouraged to start thinking creatively and writing. Activities will include writing stories and poetry. For more information on how to register, call 604 665-3967 or visit vpl.ca/ events.

Strathcona

Vaisakhi is historically a joyous occasion and an important day in the Sikh calendar. PHOTO REBECCA BLISSETT

free family days on the last Saturday of every month. CAG invites all ages to drop-in for short exhibition tours and free art-making activities related to its current exhibitions. This new initiative is presented in collaboration with ArtStarts on Saturdays. The next free family day will be Saturday, March 28 from noon to 3 p.m. at 555 Nelson St. Visit contemporaryartgallery.ca. ArtStarts Gallery is featuring From Seabeds to Cityscapes, An Exhibition of Young People’s Art until March 28. The gallery invites you to explore the many ways in which students across B.C. have

reﬂected on their immediate surroundings and examined the concept of dwelling in both human and natural worlds. Investigate how creatures in different habitats interact with the spaces they inhabit, envision the human body as a dwelling space, imagine dwellings for people in the future, and delve into many other creative contemplations. ArtStarts Gallery is located at 808 Richards St.

KensingtonCedar Cottage

The Kid’s Meditation Class is designed for children ages 4 to 11 on Sundays from 10 to 11:15 a.m. until April 26. It’s a

place intended for children and parents to go together to learn how to develop harmony, conﬁdence and methods to help calm their minds and strengthen family relations. Participants learn about giving, sharing and loving. Activities include a spiritual topic, story time, and arts and crafts. Classes are taught by experienced Dharma practitioners. Parents are welcome to stay with the children or enjoy Prayers for World Peace offered in the adjacent meditation room. There is no charge for this

class. Donations are accepted but not expected. The Kadampa Meditation Centre Vancouver is located at 1833 Victoria Diversion. See kmcvancouver.org for information.

Kitsilano

The Kitsilano Community Centre will celebrate the coming of spring with children’s musician Marnie Grey of Music with Marnie. Get ready to jump in puddles, swing like monkeys and hop like kangaroos. Register for a class at the community centre and see what others have been

Do you wish you could party with your favourite book characters? The Strathcona Branch of the Vancouver Public Library hosts an Amulet Party March 18 from 1 to 2 p.m. Participants are invited to work on crafts and games inspired by Amulet characters. Drop in and express creativity with Lego provided by the library at the Lego Block Party for those ages 6 to 12, March 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. For more information on how to register, call 604 665-3967 or visit vpl.ca/events. For those looking for crafty workshops, the branch will also host a button making class March 20 from 1 to 3 p.m. twitter.com/jennypengnow

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Family

New sensory playground more than fun Deanna Cheng

dmwcheng7@gmail.com

The Children’s Hearing and Speech Centre of B.C. on Kaslo Street will soon have a new playground thanks to a group of Canadian Tire owners and Tire Stewardship B.C. Principal Janet Weil, the centre’s executive director, ﬁnds the whirlwind situation a bit of a miracle. “We would not have initiated it. While we saw the need, the fundraising we need to do has to support our other programs,” said Weil. The centre’s priorities include expanding its occupational therapy program and individual essential services. She said everything for the playground was donated at an estimated cost of $125,000.

“For our kids, it’s really going to help support so many of their early learning needs,” said Weil. Last Saturday, Canadian Tire volunteers worked together to assemble the playground in wet weather. They hefted plastic rooftops that read “Kids Only” and installed outdoor metal xylophones. Weil described it as a “sensory playground” using sight, touch and sound. “Where the children see it as play, we can see the certain intent to the structures.” Weil said the playground will help the children develop upper body strength, something they need to remain seated upright in class or to be able to write. “Sometimes when kids don’t have good upper body strength, it impacts

on all of their learning,” she said. Highlights of the project include green drums for children to bang on and a

reminiscent of an alien house, was installed for kids to climb over and under. A local artist will help with the ﬁnishing touches

“For our kids, it’s really going to help support so many of their early learning needs.” —Janet Weil section with plastic balls designed to distort images and delight the eye when the kids look through it. The slide is a green metal frame with black rollers so when children go down it, the rollers moving under their hands and legs add a tactile element to the experience. A large green plastic dome with holes in it,

by hand-painting the edges and replacing stale grey boards with scenes of stars and animals. As well, a “natural” grassy area and forest are being created with wooden logs, and a sandbox will be installed in one corner. Recycled rubber from B.C. tires will be poured onto the ground this week, sealing in the new structures.

“It’s poured in place, almost like cement, so rubber is bound and nothing is loose,” said Rosemary Sutton, executive director of Tire Stewardship B.C. “This type of rubber surface is appealing to people due to safety because of the bounce factor and it’s easily maintained. It’s why people choose this over pea gravel or bark mulch.” Tire Stewardship B.C., which recently recycled its 70th million tire, has a community grant program through which it offers funding for organizations that use B.C. rubber for their projects. “We’ve given over $3 million to more than 190 projects in 80 communities across B.C.,” said Sutton. She added if the centre had applied for the community grant independently, it would have

been rejected because it’s not publicly accessible. The non-proﬁt society, however, was approached by Canadian Tire, which is a stakeholder in the tire recycling program. “It’s a special case,” said Sutton. “We wanted to because it’s an organization that provides service to the whole province of B.C. A unique one-of-a-kind project.” Families are welcomed to use the playground as long as the centre is open, Weil said. Children have to be accompanied by an adult, either a caregiver or parent, at all times. The ofﬁcial ribbon-cutting launch of the playground is May 20. To learn more about the centre, visit childrenshearing.ca. To learn more about Tire Stewardship B.C., visit tsbc.ca. twitter.com/writerly_dee

Janet Weil, principal of the Children’s Hearing and Speech Centre of B.C., and some students check out a drawing of their new playground. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

The people have spoken Visit vancourier.com/STARS to see the winners of the 2015 Readers’ Choice Awards!

W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

Pet of the Week 7th Annual

Great A-Mazing Egg Hunt April 4th & April 5th, 2015 Two Sessions Per Day! 10am - 12pm & 12pm -2pm

Name: Spartacus (Sparty)

Owner: Trish Bugera

Age: Two years

Been together: 22 months

Breed: Jack Russell terrier

Characteristics: Spartacus enjoys hunting rats and taking long walks in Pacific Spirit Park. Sparty’s favourite people are children and he is known to start getting a little wiggy around 3 p.m. in the afternoon when the kids are on their way home from school. He is rather adept at stealing unattended sandwiches from the coffee table and is most receptive to meaty treats. Dislikes include vacuum cleaners and being forced to wear festive Christmas outfits. The Courier wants to include your animal companion in Pet of the Week. Please send a clear photo of your pet — humans are welcome to be in photos as well — their breed, name, age, how long you’ve been together and any special attributes or idiosyncrasies they might have to sthomas@vancourier.

Kids 2 to 12 will enjoy...

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Seeking volunteers with knee osteoarthritis. We need your help for a research study! The Motion Analysis and Biofeedback Lab at the University of British Columbia is seeking volunteers with knee osteoarthritis to participate in a study assessing the effects of different types of exercise on standing balance and physical function. If eligible, you may receive a supervised training program consisting of exercises to be performed 4 times a week for 10 weeks. To take part you must: • be 50 - 80 years old • have osteoarthritis in at least one knee • be otherwise healthy (i.e. no stroke, diabetes, or Parkinson’s) • not have had a hip or knee replacement • be willing to complete 10 weeks of exercise Visit www.ubc-mablab.ca or contact Natasha (604-822-7948 or mablabstudies@gmail.com) for further details!

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MJ Lee instructs the PussyCat dance class at Tantra Fitness. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

One pass to rule them all Subscription promises unlimited classes at studios

Jenny Peng

Jennypeng08@gmail.com

Between the long hours beauty blogger Sheila Pan works, she hardly has time to schedule exercise sessions in the week, never mind having a regular ﬁtness routine. But since Wednesday she’s already sweated out at Tantra Fitness using a monthly subscription service with access to classes across Vancouver. The monthly subscription service known as ClassPass launched March 11 in Vancouver following similar ventures in major cities including Toronto and in the U.S. It offers members an unlimited number of classes at all the studios it has partnered with for $99 per month. It’s entirely possible to be breaking a sweat in a yoga class at one end of the city and pumping up heart rates at cycling and Pilates class the next day at the opposite end of the city. Pan is one of the few trying out her free pass given by ClassPass. So far, she’s taken a cardio strip tease class in Richmond at Tantra Fitness. Between downtown

Vancouver where she works and Richmond where she lives, Pan said she’ll be able to schedule sessions on weekdays downtown and take classes in Richmond during the weekend. She said the flexibility to choose from different locations and the price point will likely be the biggest draws for people signing up. But it’s hard to predict how this will change fitness routines of Vancouverites who are loyal to the studios they frequent. “Exercise is a huge part of our lives but we already have a place that we’re dedicated to, so people going to yoga will only go to a certain yoga studio or people like spin will only go to a certain studio for spin.” Daniela Wilman, program director at Tantra Fitness Vancouver, said the program opens up their studios to customers who may be hesitant to try their classes, which are rooted in pole dancing. “We wanted to just let people who are going to their regular yoga class or their regular kind of niche fitness classes in Vancouver, just to try and get

them outside their box a little bit,” he said. Ever since the launch of ClassPass, Wilman reported a handful of new clients to their studio and spoke to a woman who has added kickboxing and classes at Tantra to her routine. ClassPass doesn’t compete with the studios’ own memberships, said Anya Walsh, general manager of Eastwood Cycle Sanctuary, one of the over 70 participating studios in Metro Vancouver approached by ClassPass. The program caps members from visiting the same studio three times a month. After clients have tried their studio using the ClassPass, the goal for the studio is to attract long-term members with their own membership deals. Eastside Fitness was one of the studios that turned down the ClassPass idea. “The exposure is great but for ﬁtness studios and ﬁtness routines to be truly effective and consistent, a person needs to be very close to where they work out,” said Darnelle Moore, owner of Eastside Fitness, in an email to the Courier. twitter.com/jennypengnow

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W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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DENTURISTS ARE DENTURE SPECIALISTS Need Dentures? Denture Problems? We can help you!

Beauty in the face of illness The Lipstick Project seeks volunteers

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Those involved with the Lipstick Project, a volunteerdriven charity providing free, professional spa services to terminally ill patients of all ages, aim to give those they serve one good day. “We know that we’re not saving lives or anything like that. Our aim is to bring a little bit of light and love and comfort to someone who is facing significant health challenges in what can be a scary part of their life,” says founder and executive director Leigh Boyle. The Vancouver-based 27-year-old established the Lipstick Project in 2012, though its roots go back to 2011. From 2010 to 2011, Boyle worked full time as a communications officer for Imagine1day, an international nonprofit agency focused on education, in Mekelle, in northern Ethiopia. Interested in volunteering in the community on her days off, Boyle connected with an area women’s hospital. While her help was warmly welcomed, she was unsure what she had to contribute to the women’s happiness, considering she didn’t speak their language and came from a different cultural background. Her girlfriends suggested she offer the patients manicures. “I’m not skilled in that way, but I thought, yeah sure, that could be a cool way to connect with people, and just sort of take care of each other and be compassionate towards each other and it really worked well,” says Boyle, who also serves as a development officer for the Union Gospel Mission in the Downtown Eastside. She was further inspired

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The Lipstick Project’s Leigh Boyle and Victoria Steele invite beauty professionals and community members at large to get involved with their organization, which offers free spa services to people facing significant health challenges. PHOTO MIKE WAKEFIELD

to launch the organization because right before she moved home in 2011, a family friend had passed away at the North Shore Hospice. One of the woman’s last requests had been to have her hair and nails done. For the name of her organization, Boyle turned to a story she recalled reading while in university, an excerpt from the diary of Lt.Col. Mervin Willett Gonin. He had been one of the first British soldiers to liberate the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. He wrote about the horrific conditions of those held captive and their sheer lack of basic necessities. He also noted the transformative effects of the arrival of a large crate of lipstick, bringing the people back to life by rejuvenating their sense of individuality. The Lipstick Project is partnered with and serves patients identified by staff through the North Shore Hospice Society, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, Vancouver Hospice Society, B.C. Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald

Family House of B.C. Services offered include: haircuts, updos, washes and trims, manicures and pedicures, makeup applications and different types of massages. Approximately 100 people volunteer with the program annually, however more are needed. They’re looking for beauty professionals, including hair stylists, estheticians and massage therapists, though interested community members not skilled in those areas are also welcome to come on board and help with more administrative duties. Sessions are typically held Monday afternoons, once or twice a month, for approximately three hours. “There’s no worries if you’re not familiar with hospice care or necessarily what we’re all about. What we’re looking for are people who have a heart for contributing to the community and who are willing to learn,” says Boyle. “It’s a very supportive teambased program,” she says. Victoria Steele has been volunteering with the Lipstick Project since 2013. She

serves as a team leader at the North Shore Hospice, overseeing volunteers and ensuring things run smoothly for all involved during sessions. She was motivated to get involved with the organization in the wake of her father Tom’s passing at the North Shore Hospice in December 2012 at age 64 after a decade of battling various forms of lymphoma. During her father’s time there, it became abundantly clear that, in the last days of someone’s life, it’s the little things that are truly important and bring comfort and peace, she says. Steele is pleased to be able to return to the hospice and give back to other patients and families facing similar challenges. “It was something that I really wanted to be a part of because it meant a lot to my family when there were people at the hospice helping us,” she says. “It was a comforting feeling knowing that people were there for you,” she adds. For more information on the Lipstick Project, visit thelipstickproject.ca.

604-874-1221 • www.dryoshida.com

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Arts&Entertainment

GOT ARTS? 604.738.1411 or events@vancourier.com

March 18 to 20, 2015 1. Local movers and shakers Out Innerspace and the 605 Collective preview two new dance pieces, which won’t be seen in completion until 2016. It all goes down March 19 to 21 at the Roundhouse Performance Arts Centre as part of the Vancouver International Dance Festival. Details at vidf.ca.

2. How big of a “piano superstar” is Lang Lang? Well, his performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, March 18 at the Orpheum, is sold out. And the dude wears a leather suit. A leather suit! Details at vancouversymphony.ca. 3. Billed as “a night of random music, ideas and mayhem,” Amanda Palmer and friends from TED promises a little bit of everything from the eclectic singer-songwriter — stirring performances, a random assortment of special guests… headset microphones. Check it out, March 18, 8 p.m. at the Vogue Theatre. Tickets at Red Cat, Zulu, Highlife and northerntickets.com. 4. Japan’s “experimental sound poet” Tomomi Adachi joins an idiosyncratic and international group of vocalists headlining this year’s Voice Over Mind Festival, March 18 to 21 at Western Front. Other performers include Swedish artist, composer, musician and writer Erik Bünger, the Netherlands’ Petra van der Schoot, Jerusalem-born vocalist and composer Ayelet Rose Gottlieb and Vancouver’s Camille Hesketh among others. Details at front.bc.ca.

W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Arts&Entertainment

Top 10 rejected TED Talks topics KUDOS & KVETCHES

This week TED Talks returns to Vancouver for another series of inspirational and motivational speeches by “thinkers, dreamers and mavericks” wearing headset microphones to engage and transform audience members who aren’t fazed by an $8,500 admission price. The list of speakers at the 2015 edition, held at the Vancouver Convention Centre until March 20, includes international relations experts, computer scientists, performance artists, researchers, space explorers, authors, social activists, sculptors, architects, poets, rhythmic gesticulators, animatronic former Cabbage Patch Kids and the dude who designed the Michael Jackson zipper jacket. We may have made a few of those up. If you sense a slight bitterness in our tone, you’d be correct. This is the second year TED Talks has come to Vancouver and it’s the

second time the organizers of the popular event have rejected or outright ignored our proposed seminar topics. Apparently our dose of reality is just a little too real for some people. Here are some of the topics members of K&K would have blown minds and taken names with if TED Talks weren’t a

bunch of pussies: • Has Society Finally Reached Peak Yam Fries? • Stop Posting or Liking Vancity Buzz Links on Facebook Before We Begin to Question our Facebook Friendship with You • Givin’r vs. Those Who Give’r • If You’re Sleeping with

Mascots of Professional Sports Teams as Means of Achieving Your Goals, You Might Want to Rethink Your “Five-Year Plan” • If Loving Mitsou’s “Bye Bye Mon Cowboy” is a Crime, then Lock Us Up and Throw Away the Key • In Case You Didn’t Already Know, the Cyndi

Lauper song “She-Bop” is About Masturbation • Sorry to Break it to You, But Rick Springﬁeld Sounds Like One Creepy Dude • Why “Lodi” and “Electric Avenue” are Our Go-To Karaoke Jams

• Craft Beer Needs to Stop Relying on Hop Puns • That Time Our Mom Conﬁscated our Purple Rain Cassette After Hearing the Lyrics to “Darling Nikki.” twitter.com/KudosKvetches

Apparently the organizers of Ted Talks don’t think audiences can withstand Kudos & Kvetches’ “truth bombs” about the deeper meaning of Cyndi Lauper’s hit song “She Bop.”

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Arts&Entertainment

Not your average day at the office Corporate warfare, ofﬁce politics get skewered in ITSAZOO’s The Competition is Fierce THEATRE REVIEW Jo Ledingham joled@telus.net

Lauchlin Johnston’s set for the 2014 ITSAZOO’s acclaimed Killer Joe, directed by Chelsea Haberlin, was so squalid and the play so violent, I felt like rushing home and standing in a hot, cleansing shower. On the other hand, Jennifer Stewart’s design for ITSAZOO’s The Competition is Fierce, also directed by Haberlin, is so blazingly bright and so sterile you could be in the OR — white walls, white floors, white ceiling, white furniture. Sharp surgical lighting by Conor Moore enhances the OR effect but his projections of gleaming towers locate the play in the upscale offices of big business. But — spoiler alert — there will be (as there was in Killer Joe) blood on the floor. A dead rodent. And worse.

Haberlin, co-artistic producer of ITSAZOO, says that the company has always believed that “theatre should be a party — a night out that is as cool as a concert,” but most concerts don’t have guys running around bare-assed with their manly parts dangling, throwing poo or stabbing each other. Written by co-artistic producer Sebastien Archibald, The Competition is Fierce was inspired by Archibald’s turn as a telemarketer in a highly competitive environment where the staff was treated with contempt; more recently, he became interested in the well-documented successes of psychopaths in the corporate world. The play is set in the nottoo-distant future, indicated by attractive, slightly futuristic costumes by Carmen Alatorre, and some cool techie gadgets. It could be as soon as tomorrow or next week. The recent suicide of Paul, the director of ﬁnance,

Chris Cochrane takes corporate warfare to a new level in ITSAZOO’s futuristic and bloody The Competition is Fierce, at The Shop until March 22.

has left a job opening in a vast capitalist empire run by Madeline (Marilyn Norry); ﬁlling the job has been left to Carlyle (Andrew Wheeler), a brutal, psychotic guy who lurches about with

a cane. Company rules necessitate a competition for the position. The winner gets the job, the loser gets castrated — really, not metaphorically. Running for the job are nerdy, decent John (Chris Cochrane) and charming but nasty John (Carlo Marks). As well as the high-paying job, the prize will also turn out to be Claire (Rachel Cairns) who works in accounts, several ﬂoors down from the big guys. The Competition is Fierce is stylish and, without patronizing a younger audience, I think it might work better

for the under 30s than for those of us who have been around for a while. Rooted in realism — albeit slightly futuristic — the play spirals off into a kind of sci-ﬁ, futuristic, gladiatorial bloodbath. Kudos, however, to Olivier Lunardi, the ﬁght director, who choreographed some very slick combat, especially some precision knife-work by Cairns. Director Haberlin has cast some of the best actors in town for this production. Nobody does horny, nasty, cougar like Norry, and Wheeler will step easily from manipulative Carlyle directly

into the remount of Proud, in which he plays Stephen Harper. Add a hard-shell wig and a tie, et voilà. Cochrane and Marks are well contrasted: Cochrane bumblingly, nervously sweet and Marks charmingly, confidently wicked. Claire is the most interesting character because it’s not immediately apparent what she wants; she’s not ambitious, she needs the job she has and she’s willing to overlook the toxic work environment in which she finds herself. Cairns is so straightforward and pure in her approach to the role that she’s like a breath of spring in corporate hell. At a little over two hours, The Competition is Fierce is too long to support itself. Like Killer Joe, the direction, production and performance exceed the script. With nudity, a little bit of sex and lots of violence it’s not for kids, but it is, as Haberlin suggests in a press release, a “theatre event” and one that the younger set might find more satisfying than those of us who have been around that particular block. For more reviews, go to joledingham.ca. The Competition is Fierce runs until March 22 at The Shop (125 East Second Ave.). Tickets at brownpapertickets.com or at the door. Limited seating; reservations are strongly recommended. Details at itsazoo.org.

Dine out on March 26, 2015 and 25% of food proceeds from participating restaurants goes towards supporting people living with HIV/AIDS.

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W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Arts&Entertainment

Obaaberima carries universal message One-man play explores West African culture, homosexuality and the search for acceptance STATE OF THE ARTS Cheryl Rossi

crossi@vancourier.com

The image of a young boy wearing his mother’s red high heels, gazing into a mirror entered Tawiah M’carthy’s imagination in 2008 and stuck, so he wrote a poem about him. “There were things about that boy that I found were similar to me growing up, so I wanted to investigate what that was about,” said the Ghana-born, Torontobased actor. “I was interested in ﬁnding how this young boy grew up, how he grew up to understand himself,” M’carthy continued. “In Ghana, being gay is not really part of the vocabulary that exists. The only name that exists… is a derogatory term ‘obaaberima,’ which means girl-boy.” M’carthy transformed his poem into a one-man show called Obaaberima with the help of the young creators unit of Toronto’s Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. The show collected rave reviews when it premiered in Toronto in 2012, and M’carthy brings Obaaberima to the Cultch, March 24 to April 4. Obaaberima opens with a young Ghanaian man named Agyeman telling his cellmates, on the eve of

his release from prison for committing a violent crime, how he came to be there. He needs to tell his truth to be free. In Ghana, the young Agyeman lacked the language he needed to positively express who he was, so on the advice of an elderly friend he names his feminine side, dubbing her Sibongile. But to ﬁt in in Ghana, he needed to reject Sibongile and his homosexuality. Then when Agyeman comes to Canada, those he gets close to criticize him for not being himself and accepting his sexuality. “So it becomes how am I able to be myself fully? How am I able to be Ghanaian and Canadian?” M’carthy said. M’carthy drew inspiration from his own experience of trying to adapt to a new culture when he moved from Ghana to Merritt, B.C. at age 15. “I didn’t sound like anyone else, I didn’t look like anyone else,” he said. “Especially when you’re young, too. When you’re young it’s all about trying to ﬁt in so that you’re not a weird one.” It wasn’t until M’carthy studied theatre at York University in Toronto that he truly came into himself. “There’s no hiding when you’re becoming an artist because, as much as possible, you’re sharing parts

Tawiah M’carthy brings his one-man show, Obaaberima, to the Cultch March 24 to April 4.

of yourself with the world when you’re on stage, you share a part of yourself if you’re writing,” he said.

“And if you’re not true to yourself, that connection that you create as an artist, you will not get from other

people.” M’carthy spent four years exploring the truths he wanted to tell and how

he wanted to tell them with Buddies in Bad Times, the largest and longest-running queer theatre in the world. The result is a North American piece of theatre told through a traditional West African style of storytelling, incorporating spoken word, dance and live music performed by Ghanaian-Canadian Kobena Aquaa-Harrison. Evalyn Parry, who performed Spin at the Cultch in 2013, helped M’carthy develop Obaaberima and directs the performance. M’carthy believes Obaaberima speaks a universal language. “It just happens that the character is from Ghana... It just happens that the character is queer,” M’carthy said. “But the message within the play is something that I believe is universal. We are all, no matter where you’re from, even if you were born and raised here in Canada, we all go through that personal journey of being able to accept ourselves for who we are, or we struggle with trying to please others or ﬁt in with whatever community that we grow into.” Audience members can participate in post-show Q&A sessions March 25, 29 and 31. For more information, see thecultch.com. twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

A new point of view.

CBC News Andrew Chang

Vancouver Weeknights at 5 & 6 pm cbc.ca/bc

@cbcnewsbc

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, M A RC H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Sports&Recreation

GOT SPORTS? 604.630.3549 or mstewart@vancourier.com

By Megan Stewart

Scrubb Brothers are Five for Five

Vancouver College alumni and brothers Phil and Thomas Scrubb became the fourth and fifth players in CIS history to win five national men’s championship rings in front of 3,917 at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre on March 15. The Carleton Ravens defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a lopsided 93-46 victory to win a fifth consecutive national title under coach Dave Smart. Phil scored 28 points and added 10 assists to bring home his second Jack Donahue Trophy as the tournament’s MVP, while Thomas delivered his own double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. The Ravens completed their second, successful five-year run, equalling their remarkable championship streak from 2003 to 2007. “It’s pretty cool to think about,” said Phil in a Carleton news release about the five-for-five run. “Each individual one is different and pretty special and this one, after we lost a few games this year, is a good feeling.”

Not madness... There’s no NCAA kid better than Tommy or Phil. I’m not saying they’re better than those guys but they’re in the same league. — Dave Smart, head coach of the Carleton Ravens, speaking to Yahoo Sports Canada about Thomas and Phil Scrubb. He added, “They’re right there with any of the [Canadian] kids who play in the NCAA,” and listed young Canadian NBA players Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Kelly Olynyk, Cory Joseph, and Tristan Thompson.

Hockey for the blind… plus Canucks!

The Vancouver Eclipse Blind Hockey Team and Courage Canada Hockey for the Blind will hold an open skate to try their parasport and play alongside Canucks alumni. On today from 5 to 6 p.m. at Burnaby 8 Rinks, they will host an open skate for participants of all ages who are visually impaired to try blind hockey. From 6 to 7:10 p.m., former Vancouver Canucks including Cliff Ronning, Dave Babych, Jyrki Lumme will scrimmage with the Eclipse. The sport of blind hockey is played by athletes who are legally blind with approximately 10 per cent vision or less. The game uses an adapted puck that makes noise and is bigger and slower than a traditional puck. The sport also has slightly modiﬁed rules. Face-offs begin with the puck stationary on the ice, goals may only be scored if the shot hits the bottom three feet of the net, and a goal counts only once a team has completed one pass in the offensive zone prior to shooting. Otherwise, according to Courage Canada Hockey, the game “is immediately recognizable as Canada’s national winter sport.” Skate rentals and safety equipment is provided and mentors will be on the ice to assist and teach. Arrive at 4:30 p.m. to gear up. To register, email info@couragecanada.ca.

Regret the Error Last week, I wrote that CIS national heavyweight champion Kyle Nguyen was the former captain of the J.O. Jugglers. Those in the know realize that just can’t be. John Oliver secondary has its Jokers. Notre Dame Regional Secondary has its Jugglers. Here, we have facts and like to get them right. I promise never again to confuse these two circus acts and apologize for the error.

Above: Tupper guard Taylor Ross (No. 15) had 15 points in the senior boys AAA B.C. championship final. Right: Santi Ubial (No. 20) shuts his eyes and leans against Tupper coach Jeff Gourley after the Tigers lost the senior boys AAA B.C. championship to Fleetwood Park in Langley March 14. PHOTOS CHUNG CHOW

Heartbreak for Tupper, let down at Churchill

In AAA ﬁnal, Dragons extinguish Tigers’ double-digit lead FLEETWOOD PARK TUPPER

73 65

Megan Stewart

mstewart@vancourier.com

Players hung their heads and crumpled to the court, their bodies and resolve totally spent. A ponytailed coach embraced them all, and at least one Tupper Tiger hid his tears in his jersey as he met the Fleetwood Park Dragons to shake hands after losing the senior boys AAA B.C. championship ﬁnal Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre. “There’s only one champion,” said Tigers head coach Jeff Gourley. “We take the silver and I am incredibly proud of these boys. We’re back at it Wednesday to start the next season.” Despite overwhelming the Dragons on the momentum of tireless defence and a 21-3 run to start the game, the Tigers came up short in the next three quarters and lost the provincial title by eight points. The Tigers, ranked No. 1 in the weeks leading up

to the tournament, built their early lead by shooting seven-for-10 from the ﬁeld and scoring on all but one offensive possession. On defence, a high zone crippled the No. 2 Dragons, who were further rebuffed by the iron. Victory seemed to be in their grasp. Each of Tupper’s starters scored as the Tigers shot to an 18-point lead, and the Dragons’ only two baskets in the quarter came from the hands of Noah Licas and Travis Erickson who hit identical three-pointers from the corner. The second quarter belonged to Fleetwood Park, who answered with an 1810 run thanks largely to Emeka Okuma who came alive with 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks in the quarter. Okuma, who was named the AAA Most Valuable Player, ﬁnished with 20 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks in the game. Defending in the paint, the six-footthree senior swatted away shots on a vertical that took him halfway to the rafters at the LEC. The Dragons outscored the Tigers by six points in

the quarter and entered the half having cut the lead to nine. “I told them to just chip away at it, we’ve been in games like this before,” said Dragons head coach Jordan Taylor, who’s coached the Surrey side since the seniors were in Grade 8. Chip away they did. The Tigers’ lead dwindled to two after the third quarter and in the fourth, after Niko Mottus was hit in the face but charged with a holding foul, Okuma came up with a clutch stuff, and Tomas Fovenyi sunk his only one of 12 attempts from three-point range to give the Dragons a 50-49 lead, their first of the game. Tupper’s Santi Ubial held back the tide with a jumper of his own, and the Tigers were back on top 51-50. But it wasn’t Tupper’s night. Fleetwood Park took control when Okuma denied another shot, and Erickson hit three straight daggers from outside in less than one minute to go up 61-53. Chris Schneller hit his first perimeter shot to put the Tigers within five

points, and John Tait got one back on Okuma by rejecting him at the rim, but the clock ran out on Tupper’s season. Schneller had 21 points in the loss, Tait had 14 points and 17 rebounds, and Taylor Ross added 15 points. On Sunday, Gourley wrote the Courier: “Difﬁcult evening. Difﬁcult day today… But what really gave me solace today was when I went out to grab a few groceries on Main Street. It was pouring rain and with my head down, soaking wet, splashing through the puddles followed by the black dog of depression. “As I came out of the grocery store, suddenly three little squeaky voices called out, ‘Hi coach, hi coach! Tough game last night!’ I looked up and there were three boys, not yet young men, players from the younger grade teams, walking home from the Hillcrest community centre. They said, ‘We started working out for next year today.’” All of a sudden it wasn’t raining so hard, Gourley wrote.

W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER

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Sports&Recreation

‘There’s only one champion’ BASKETBALL

Megan Stewart

mstewart@vancourier.com

The lights have been switched off at the Langley Events Centre following the 70th annual senior boys high school basketball provincials, which culminated Saturday night with four championship ﬁnals from single-A through AAAA. Vancouver’s seven contenders included West Point Grey Academy and St. Patrick’s at single-A, the Britannia Bruins and Tupper Tigers and AA and AAA, respectively, and the Thompson Trojans and Churchill Bulldogs at the largest tier. The Tigers went deepest by reaching the championship against Surrey’s Fleetwood Park, but the winning streak that dated to late January ended for Tupper as the B.C. crown slipped away by eight points. Heartbreak is only a word when you’re not the one feeling the anguish. Tigers Chris Schneller

and John Tait were named to the first all-star team. The Bulldogs, in their attempt to win back-toback titles, lost a 70-68 back-and-forth semi-final to Terry Fox on March 13. Deflated by the disappointing end to a season that very nearly peaked perfectly, Churchill lost the bronze to Kelowna and finished fourth overall. Bulldog Lambert Pajayon was named to the first all-star team and Gary Minhas was awarded a Telus scholarship. Also in AAAA, the Thompson Trojans lost their first game and finished outside the top 10. In AA, Britannia also finished out of the top 10. In single-A, St. Patrick’s and West Point Grey Academy clashed after both lost their quarterfinal matchups to higher ranked teams. The Celtics got a 71-64 edge before going on to finish fifth overall. The Wolves finished seventh. Eric Zhang of West Point Grey Academy and Ivan Sombillo of St. Pat-

rick’s were both named to the second all-star team. The Yale Lions, on the can’t-be-contained recordsetting performance of senior Jacquin Bennett-Boire, won the AAAA championship over Terry Fox 69-63. In AA, Victoria’s St. Michael’s University School reached the ﬁnal for the ﬁrst time since 1992 when a promising senior named

Steve Nash ran the court. As coach Ian Hyde-Lay was accused in a Toronto Star investigative story of contributing to a culture of verbal abuse at the Victoria private school, SMUS defeated Delview 6640 to win the championship. In single-A, Kelowna Christian beat Kelowna’s Immaculata for the championship. twitter.com/MHStewart

Above: Churchill forward Amit Sekhon (No. 15) fights for a rebound in a 68-70 semi-final loss to the Terry Fox Ravens in the senior boys AAAA B.C. championships in Langley on March 13. PHOTO PAUL CZENE

Left: Churchill guard and first-team all-star Lambert Pajayon (No. 14) makes a play under pressure in a 100-79 loss to the Kelowna Owls in the third-place game at the senior boys AAAA B.C. championships in Langley on March 14. PHOTO CHUNG CHOW

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5

Sports&Recreation

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UBC guard Kris Young (No. 6) had 40 points in a 81-59 quarterfinal win over Ryerson University in the CIS women’s basketball championship March 12 in Quebec City. The gash over her eye came a week earlier in the Canada West semi-final against the Albert Pandas. PHOTO MATHIEU BELANGER/LAVAL UNIVERSITY

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Young effort sets record UBC guard Kris Young helps T-Birds to bronze THUNDERBIRDS Megan Stewart

mstewart@vancourier.com

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Thanks to a record-setting 40-point performance and an average 26.3 points per game at the women’s CIS basketball championship last week in Quebec City, UBC guard Kris Young helped the Thunderbirds to national bronze and rise to second on the school’s all-time scoring list. “Kris is a complete player,” said head coach Deb Huband in a statement after an 81-59 quarterfinal win over the Ryerson Rams. “She is a very good defender, rebounder, competitor and scorer, obviously. She is our fifth-year leader on and off the court. She is a three-time All-Canadian and there’s a reason for that, and you could see it on display in today’s game.” In the quarterfinal at Laval University’s PEPS Gym on March 12, Young went 15 for 19 from the field

and shot 83 per cent from the free-throw line. Her 40 points surpassed UBC’s single-game points record of 39 established in 1993 by Lisa Nickle. “I had no idea I was getting close to 40 points or the school record,” said Young, the Canada West MVP. “We were all focused on playing well and getting the win today, but getting the record is pretty exciting.” She scored 75 points in three games, pushing her to second on the school’s alltime scoring list with 2,384 career points. Erica McGuinness holds the pole position with 2,523 all-time points. Once they’d dispatched Ryerson to advance to the

semifinals, the No. 2 Thunderbirds season came to an end with a 59-57 overtime loss to the McGill Martlets. Playing for bronze on Sunday, the T-Birds beat the Saskatchewan Huskies by 12 to finish third in the country. The game replayed the Canada West championship and, again, UBC came out on top. The win marks the last university game for Young, a Handsworth secondary alumna, who led her team in points and rebounds with 25 points and seven, respectively. She also had five assists. Lauren Seabrook and Harleen Sidhu also finish as fifth year players. twitter.com/MHStewart

Kris Young by the numbers...

26.3 40

Average points per game at the CIS national championship.

Points in a single game, which also broke UBC record dating to 1993.

Her position on the T-Birds all-time scoring list, with 2,384 career points.

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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5